Does the inside match the outside?

How are you doing when you are with your horse? Are you aware of how you are feeling?

- Calm, happy and joyful?

- Slightly irritated because of how your day went so far?

- Sad because you are occupied with something that occupies you at the moment?

- Stressed, nervous because there is so much more to do and get done in your day?

Just before you enter the horses space, take a moment to connect with yourself and feel how you are honestly feeling at the time. It can be a variety of all of the above and it is so human, so you are not alone in this, believe me.

Your horse knows instantly how you feel when you approach. It does not look for you to "overcome" whatever you feel right now, it actually wants you to connect with it (yourself), feel it and acknowledge it.

In my space it often helps when I express to the horse how I feel while I connect to the feeling. And because I can acknowledge it, express it (I don't mean anything like shouting at the horse or hitting it to vent your feelings of anger) but it could be that you take a stick and hit the ground, stamp your feet, make noises that expresses authentically how you feel inside. Let your body express how it feels. You will be surprised how unattached a horse is when you express it. The horse knows nature, it is nature. We humans judge our emotions as good or bad, not the horse. Freeing yourself is freeing your horse.

My beautiful Aramis for example stops to move when he feels pent up frustration or anger in me. It is not until I have released that by expressing that he all of a sudden is very happy to move with me, almost as nothing has happened before. Why, well, again if I feel into myself my stuck energy has moved as well and I feel much lighter, happier and relaxed.

Horses are masters in helping us finding our happiness within ourselves, they truly serve us and are more than willing to show us. Hiding, being though, coping or being a victim are just no strategies to create a happy fulfilling life and relationship to your horse. Your horse's interest is very much invested into your well being.

So next time, you feel stuck, stop whatever you are doing with your horse, take a step back, connect with yourself and express what is going on within you. Let your body show you the movement that helps releasing it. Be brave, be authentic and become happy again. You will experience that your "load" lightens and you are a step further to free yourself from your own confines.

Practical Goodies ...

“Horses have an innate ability to reflect energies back to humans, thus making them tangible and accessible for a human to understand himself better, and through the interaction, eventually allowing the change many have been looking for.” Petra Webstein